Monday, April 3, 7:00 pm
Members $90, guests, $115

Louisville, Kentucky, may be best known for the quality of its bourbon and the bluegrass that fuels its world-famous racehorses, but to serious food lovers the city stands out for its robust restaurant scene. That’s why we couldn’t be happier to welcome five of our favorite Louisville chefs to the Beard House for a unique taste of Kentucky.

Leading the Louisville delegation is chef and longtime Beard Foundation supporter Peng S. Looi. Born in Malaysia, Looi spent part of his youth in Manchester, England, before moving to Louisville to attend college. There he found a place to call home—and a calling. While completing his degree in civil engineering at the University of Louisville, Looi fell in love with the city and with cooking. He soon opened August Moon and its follow-up, Asiatique, bringing his own version of Pacific Rim cuisine to the Bluegrass State. Drawing heavily upon his Malaysian roots for inspiration at both restaurants, Looi serves exciting, eclectic food that Susan Reigler of the Courier-Journal referred to as “palate-pleasing works of edible art.”

Dean Corbett, chef and owner of Equus and Jack’s Lounge, has been an important figure on the Louisville dining scene since 1982. A local food television personality, Corbett helped represent Louisville at Ronald Reagan’s second inaugural in 1984. Over the next two decades, he built a loyal following at Equus. In 2000 he opened Jack’s Lounge in an adjacent space, and in 2001, Equus earned a four-star review from Reigler, who called Corbett’s solid, modern American menu “pure dining pleasure.”

Another name on the evening’s list that will be familiar to Beard House patrons is Anoosh Shariat. Shariat is a native of Iran and, like Looi, was also pursuing an engineering degree when he discovered his love for cooking. After settling in the United States, Shariat found refuge in a series of kitchens around the country. He arrived in Louisville in 1987 and opened the globally influenced Shariat’s in 1993. Ten years later the chef closed Shariat’s (much to the chagrin of Louisville’s diners and food critics) and opened Park Place on Main, which garnered high praise from Jack Roby of the Voice-Tribune. “Simply put,” wrote Roby, “ Park Place is one of the top few restaurants in Louisville today. Shariat’s cooking is sterling.”

Daniel Stage, the lone Louisville native in this group, is also the only chef on the list who, as executive chef at Le Relais, specializes in traditional French cuisine. A 15-year veteran of Louisville kitchens and a former member of chef Shariat’s global cuisine team, Stage has earned raves for his work at Le Relais, where he’s been sending perfectly executed dishes like escargot de Bourgogne and quail mousseline out of his kitchen since 2000. “How do I love Le Relais? Let me count the ways,” wrote Robin Garr of Robin Garr’s Louisville Restaurant Guide, explaining that Stage’s “creative riffs on traditional French cuisine keep Le Relais consistently near the top of Louisville’s restaurant competition.” Reigler of the Courier-Journal agreed, awarding the restaurant a coveted four-star review.

Shawn K. Ward is a product of another hotbed of Southern cuisine— Charleston, South Carolina. A graduate of Johnson & Wales, Ward worked for James Beard Award winner Louis Osteen at the Charleston Grill before arriving in Louisville in 1995 to become executive chef at the legendary Jack Fry’s. Still there today, Ward continues to offer diners a unique interpretation of modern American cuisine (think glazed duck breast with fruit compote, and shrimp and grits with redeye gravy). Under Ward, Jack Fry’s earned four stars from the Courier-Journal and has been named Favorite Restaurant three years running in Louisville Magazine’s Best of Louisville awards.